Assange™ names a Senatorial stand-in

Julian Assange™ has again launched his candidacy for a seat in Australia's Senate, but this time also offered an important new piece of information: the name of an alternative candidate for the seat should he be elected but be unable to leave his London bolt-hole to take up the gig.

As we've explained in the past, if everything goes right for Assange he could win a seat in Australia's Senate with as little as two or three per cent of the vote.

At the time of writing it doesn't look like the chips will fall his way: Australia's major political parties are showing no signs of sending him their excess votes, which means his bid to become a Senator is all-but-dead.

Even if Assange improbably succeeds, his prospects of leaving London's Ecuadorian Embassy remain slim. If he were unable to take up his seat, after six months his seat would be declared vacant. Australian political tradition demands the WikiLeaks Party would be able to nominate a replacement.

The party yesterday did so, naming “ethicist and commentator” Leslie Cannold as Assange's “running mate” and anointed one to take his seat should the white-haired crusader's various legal woes prevent him from taking up a seat.

By Vulture South's count, this is the third “launch” for Assange's candidacy. The first took place in March 2012 and he repeated the exercise in December of the same year.

That doesn't stop some taking the bid seriously, despite the fact the WikiLeaks Party's website is up and down like a yo-yo and, according to other reports, Assange's Skype appearance at this latest launch crashed repeatedly. ®